PTFE coated Gems - is it me or are they really shavable?

Ok, second shave on my GEM PTFE coated blades from Razorbladesandmore.com and these are apparently Ted Pella blades. It was another horrible shave to say that it was the worst shave I've ever had would be to down play the situation! I was using my 1912 and I did not have any trouble with my Blue Star carbon blades but there seems to be something horribly wrong with these ones. I've done some searching in past forms and it seems that these are for industrial use and not recommended for shaving by Ted Pella. Has anyone else used these and can tell me if I have wasted my money? I'm about to chuck them at this point and just get more Blue Stars since they seem to be worthless to me.

I got the same blades from the same retailer, and I find they're perfectly useable. For me they shave about the same as an Astra SP. So maybe not the best but pretty good. Although I've found often the first shave is harsh.

I've got around 85 sitting in a box, with 15 happily used brothers at the bottom of my used razor container. Shaves as well as any DE blade I used and lasts 7 shaves. You probably just got a bad batch.

No issues with these blades here.

billobob said:

I've got around 85 sitting in a box, with 15 happily used brothers at the bottom of my used razor container. Shaves as well as any DE blade I used and lasts 7 shaves. You probably just got a bad batch.

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Think I'll scrap that blade then and try another and hope it's better.

PIF them. Unless you think you can suffer through the shaves. Or, maybe, send a few around to others, to see if they get the same result as you. I would be willing to try a few out. The only modern SE blades I have used, so far, are the Gem/Personna, and these work well.

Those stainless GEMs don't work well for me either.
I may have a nickel allergy or something, but the carbon steel blades are superb!

mjclark said:

Those stainless GEMs don't work well for me either.
I may have a nickel allergy or something, but the carbon steel blades are superb!

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I find the carbon blades to work well as well but I've had no issues with SS DE blades or Injectors. I just hope this is a bad blade and the rest will give reasonable results but so far I'm not very happy with the results.

Blade angle for a SE is worlds away from what is used with a DE blade.

Keep the cap of the razor against your face when you shave with a SE razor other wise you will be using it like a paint scrapper not a razor.

Develop your technique then start blade jumping otherwise everything you try will be awful.

Thanks for those diagrams, Mick. I have been trying to keep the cap against my face as much as possible. I noticed that with the carbon blades it didn't cut me up like the SS PTFE's either so I'm not sure it's a technique issue but I will continue to improve as I go along. Right now I think I'll switch back to carbon for a couple shaves and see if there is a difference. I'm trying to cut the variables out, but since I had no issue with my carbons I'm thinking it might be the blades more so than my technique.

Sometimes I find the first couple of shaves with the PTFE blades a little rough, but they smooth out after that.

Do you have a microscope (or even a loop)....

take a look at the bevel on the blade. It should look like the one on the right (razor blade) NOT the one on the left (box cutter blade)

I will get one this week and check it out. Thanks!

JerYnkFan said:

Sometimes I find the first couple of shaves with the PTFE blades a little rough, but they smooth out after that.

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I will try it again. It did feel smoother than the first on the cheeks but horrid on my neck. Maybe corking and stropping are required.

mjclark said:

Those stainless GEMs don't work well for me either.
I may have a nickel allergy or something, but the carbon steel blades are superb!

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Do you have any issues with stainless DE blades or nickel coated razors?

turtle said:

Blade angle for a SE is worlds away from what is used with a DE blade.

Keep the cap of the razor against your face when you shave with a SE razor other wise you will be using it like a paint scrapper not a razor.

Develop your technique then start blade jumping otherwise everything you try will be awful.

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Good advice. I have used GEM PTFE blades from Ted Pella and from EMS (both carry the same blade) and I have never had a problem with them. In fact, it is my preferred blade for SE razors.

jankdc said:

Do you have any issues with stainless DE blades or nickel coated razors?

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Yes and yes, but not with injector blades.

Tried again tonight with the same blade in my 1912. Not AS bad but still very irritated after the shave and a couple weepers so much better in that department. The one weeper was due to an odd angle under the nose but the other one was a reopening from last night. I imagine much of the irritation was residual from yesterdays shave as well. So a bit better but I think I'll wait a few days for the skin to heal a bit before giving it another go.

Been using SE's for years. I prefer Carbon to the PTFE SS blades. Stainless give me a rough shave while carbons are smoother for me.

That looks like the case for me too.